MIAMI PREPARES FOR BARRAGE OF SUPER BOWL AD GIMMICKS

South Florida residents are in for 25 days worth of exposure
to every Super Bowl sponsor as the game creeps closer to its
January 29 date in Miami. Coca-Cola, Shell Oil, 7-11, and
McDonalds are all in the middle of Super Bowl promotions.
Blockbuster and Office Depot are just two companies planning on
getting their names on Super Bowl-related items this week. Anne
Battistoni, McDonald's Boca Raton-based regional marketing
manager: "You can expect an all-out marketing presence to welcome
Super Bowl fans from around the country." Promotions vary, from
Blockbuster's blanketing of Miami-area airports with Super Bowl
welcome signs, to Coca-Cola's limited-edition Super Bowl XXIX
Classic Coke bottles. Beginning next week, Coca-Cola will attach
1,000 Super Bowl/Coca Cola signs to light poles in the area and
dispatch six semis with a "Welcome to South Florida Super Bowl
message." The trucks will join four mobile Coca-Cola billboards
in the area. Non-English speaking fans will not miss out, as the
host committee's radio spots on the Super Bowl will also be
broadcast in Spanish and Creole (Karen Branch, MIAMI HERALD,
1/3).
EVERYWHERE ELSE: Super Bowl merchandise is hitting stores -
- everything from T-shirts to baby bibs to special golf balls.
The NFL expects to make up to $25M from Super Bowl merchandising
and product licensing (USA TODAY, 1/4).